Posted on 11/14/2019 10:45:26 AM PST by bkopto
A federal grand jury indictment was unsealed today charging fourteen alleged members of an international criminal organization with dozens of fraud, conspiracy, identity theft and money laundering charges related to their multi-million-dollar counterfeit iPhone and iPad scheme.
During a coordinated takedown that began early this morning, investigators executed 11 search warrants - including at two businesses plus several homes and vehicles located in Mira Mesa and Mission Hills - and seized an estimated $250,000 in cash plus 90 iPhones which are being evaluated to determine authenticity. As of today at noon, 11 of 14 defendants are in federal custody. Three are fugitives, including Xiamon Zhong, who is believed to be in China; Charley Hsu of San Diego; and Hyo Weon Yang of San Francisco.
According to the indictment, the organization - led by three brothers - imported more than 10,000 counterfeit iPhones and iPads from China, exchanged them for the real thing at Apple stores throughout the United States and Canada, and then shipped the authentic devices back to China and other foreign countries to sell at a premium.
Apple conservatively estimates that the loss associated with the counterfeit items that were fraudulently exchanged at Apple Stores for genuine Apple products exceeds $6.1 million.
“While a significant amount of money in any circumstance, this prosecution is about more than monetary losses,” said U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer. “The manufacture of counterfeit goods - and their use to defraud U.S. companies - seeks to fundamentally undermine the marketplace and harms innocent people whose identities were stolen in furtherance of these activities. The United States Attorney’s Office is fully committed to bringing to justice those who seek to damage American markets and consumers through the peddling of bogus products.”
FBI Special Agent in Charge Scott Brunner said: “This significant investigation and the indictment of these 14 individuals shows the FBI’s commitment to working with the United States Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners to combat international fraud schemes that affect American citizens and American businesses against counterfeit goods originating in China and those fraudsters who exploit American trademarked products for their personal financial gain.”
The Liao brothers – alleged ringleaders Zhiwei, Zhimin and Zhiting – were arrested by FBI agents this morning along with their wives. The brothers are naturalized U.S. citizens born in China. Other defendants include mostly U.S. citizens, mostly naturalized, from China, Vietnam and Russia.
Zhiwei Loop Liao Age: 31 San Diego, CA
(Naturalized U.S. citizen born in China)
Zhimin Liao Age: 33 San Diego, CA
(Naturalized U.S. citizen born in China)
Zhiting Liao Age: 30 San Diego, CA
(Naturalized U.S. citizen born in China)
*Xiamon Zhong Age: 33 China
(Chinese national residing in China)
Phillip Pak Age: 31 Richmond, CA
(U.S. citizen)
Dao Trieu La Age: 29 San Diego, CA
(Naturalized U.S. citizen born in Vietnam)
Mengmeng Zhang Age: 28 San Diego, CA
(Lawful permanent resident. Chinese national)
Tam Thi Minh Nguyen Age: 36 San Diego, CA
(Lawful permanent resident. Vietnamese national)
Deedee Zhu Age: 32 San Diego, CA
(Naturalized U.S. citizen born in China)
Danny Tran Chan Age: 29 San Diego, CA
(U.S. citizen)
*Charley Hsu Age: 39 San Diego, CA
(Chinese national)
Jiaye Jiang Age: 32 San Diego, CA
(Naturalized U.S. citizen born in China)
*Hyo Weon Yang Age: 31 San Francisco, CA
(Naturalized U.S. citizen born in Korea)
Dmitri Pigarov Age: 31 San Diego, CA
(Naturalized U.S. citizen born in Russia)
I’m sorry, but we are going to have to start hanging thieves.
There are too many of them and they aren’t afraid of going to prison.
Interesting with Comey gone and Obama Gone, some real crimes are getting solved.
Naturalized. Yank their US citizenship and send them back from where they came after they’re paroled.
“Zhiwei, Zhimin and Zhiting”
If they weren’t crooks, they could have been an extremely successful law firm.
According to the indictment, the organization - led by three brothers - imported more than 10,000 counterfeit iPhones and iPads from China, exchanged them for the real thing at Apple stores throughout the United States and Canada, and then shipped the authentic devices back to China and other foreign countries to sell at a premium.
How many people, and how many stores do you have to go to, to exchange 10,000 counterfeit items without getting caught? Even if you netted $800 per item, that’s not enough to cover the overhead.
“I’m sorry, but we are going to have to start hanging thieves.”
How much hope is there for that when we don’t even hang child molesters?
There's no way to know that, to know their cost of living and so forth. Regardless, people don't steal because they're out of work or because they're hungry, they steal because they're thieves.
This is why President Trump is standing up to Communist China. This is part and parcel of their tactics in a “free trade” environment.
There is no such thing as “free trade” when one of the two largest entities conducts itself as China does.
I recommend the book “Stealth War” by Gen. Robert Spaulding, USAF (Retired, former JCS). I have never, ever trusted the Chinese, but the description of the Communist Chinese tactics went way, WAY under my already low bar of expectations.
I listened to the audiobook, but had to buy the Kindle version so I could mark it up.
My Mandarin is rusty but but I think it translates as “Dewey, Cheatham & Howe”.
Them darn Chines “Americans”.
‘click farm’ of 10,000 phones that give FAKE ‘likes’ to our most-loved apps
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/bizarre-click-farm-10000-phones-10419403
How many are Red Chinese agents?
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